Terms of use and sale

1. Purpose and scope

1.1 Two websites, one operator

These terms of use and sale govern the services operated by Xavier Vuillemin, a sole trader, under the names Rivieramedias and RivieraMedias Éditions. Ma BD (ma-bd.com) presents and sells albums, collections, editions and associated offers. Challenge Codex (challengecodex.com) hosts the participatory project, proposals, contributions, voting and editorial follow-up.

1.2 People and transactions covered

These terms apply to visitors, readers, purchasers, subscribers, gift recipients, contributors and business partners. Sales provisions apply only to an actual order. Reading a preview or submitting a free idea is neither a purchase nor a subscription.

1.3 Contract documents

The offer description, accepted order summary and any specific terms define the content, format, language, price, duration and delivery agreed. They supplement these terms without excluding mandatory consumer protections. An author agreement, creation quotation or affiliate agreement may govern a separate relationship.

2. Publisher, seller and contact details

Xavier Vuillemin, entrepreneur individuel (sole trader), trading as Rivieramedias — RivieraMedias Éditions.
SIREN business number: 351 554 894.
Address: 50 boulevard Stalingrad – Le Port, 06300 Nice, France.
Email: contact@rivieramedias.com.
Telephone: +33 7 82 25 72 72.
Publication director: Xavier Vuillemin.

This sole trader is the seller for direct purchases on both websites. Ma BD and Challenge Codex are trading identities, not separate companies. Shared ordering, invoicing and purchase access tools do not change the identity of your contracting party.

VAT not applicable under Article 293 B of the French General Tax Code, under the regime currently applied. A change in tax status will be reflected transparently in the relevant offers and invoices, without retrospectively increasing an accepted order price.

3. Definitions

Album: an identified editorial work, with a title, collection and edition number where applicable. Edition: a version defined by its language, medium, presentation and content. French and English editions are separate versions.

Digital content: a file, images, pages or other content supplied digitally. Online reading or flipbook: reading through the website viewer. Downloadable PDF: a file supplied only where download is expressly included. Flipbook access does not automatically include a PDF.

Order: a purchase request with a reference. Pre-order: a purchase for later delivery. Subscription: an offer providing periodic services or entitlements for the agreed duration. Gift: a purchase for another person.

Contribution: an idea, script, text, image or proposal submitted to Challenge Codex. Selection: an editorial decision, which alone does not constitute a publishing contract or a paid commission. Durable medium: a means of storing information personally addressed to the recipient and reproducing it unchanged, such as an email or saved document.

4. Acceptance, capacity and audiences

4.1 Consent

Before ordering, customers must be able to read and retain the applicable terms. Accepting sales terms is not consent to marketing, a general waiver of consumer rights or permission to exploit a contribution. Specific permissions are obtained separately where required.

4.2 Legal capacity

Purchasers must have legal capacity or be validly represented. Business customers must be authorised to bind their organisation. A minor's participation requires the appropriate legal representative's permissions where required, and does not override a collection's age restrictions.

4.3 Collection identity

The catalogue may include adult works, educational works and collections for other audiences. Drawings, stylised characters or a manga format do not mean an album is suitable for children. Readers and purchasers should check the stated audience, content notices and previews. Restrictions on adult-only content must be respected.

5. Access, customer area and security

The customer area retrieves purchases and subscriptions associated with a verified email address. Both trading identities use shared commercial records: a customer does not need to repurchase an existing entitlement to find an order. This does not grant access to other people's purchases or automatically merge different email addresses.

Sign-in may use a temporary code sent to the purchase email address. Codes and personal reading, invoice, management and gift links must remain confidential. Changing browser or website may require verification again. The publisher's staff should never ask for your email account password.

Customers provide accurate information and promptly report errors or suspicious access. Account activity is not treated as conclusive proof against its holder: fraud or error may be disputed. The publisher may limit repeated attempts, invalidate compromised codes and conduct proportionate checks before restoring access.

The basket shows orders started but not paid. Each currently has a separate payment and, where applicable, delivery calculation. Viewing the basket does not trigger a charge.

6. Services, catalogue and editions

6.1 Editorial offer

Ma BD presents collections, characters, releases, previews, available editions and associated offers. Only the functions and formats described for each work are supplied. A mock-up, draft cover or “coming soon” notice does not establish immediate availability.

6.2 Languages and translations

Website language and album language are independent. Selecting an English interface does not turn a French book into an English edition. FR and EN indicators identify offered editions; the order summary identifies the purchased version. Future translations are not included in an earlier purchase unless expressly promised. Not all albums or collections are guaranteed to be translated.

6.3 Previews and specifications

A preview may show only part of a book. Advertised essential characteristics, including page count, language, format, binding and access method, form part of the offer. Normal screen-to-print differences do not exclude genuine non-conformity. A substantial change to a pre-ordered edition must be disclosed and cannot be imposed contrary to the customer's rights.

7. Orders, prices, payment and delivery

7.1 Review and conclusion

Customers choose the product, edition, language and options, then check their details, total and delivery before confirming. Input errors must be correctable before the final commitment. A confirmation creating an obligation to pay must clearly say so. An order awaiting payment is not confirmation that payment has been received.

7.2 Prices and charges

Prices are in euros unless another currency is expressly stated. The total, delivery charges and extras are disclosed before confirmation. Discounts can be combined only where the offer permits it. Promotions are subject to their stated conditions, without depriving customers of statutory rights where the publisher makes an error. Mandatory book-pricing rules continue to apply.

7.3 Payment

Only enabled payment methods may be used. PayPal is a payment provider; the publisher remains responsible for the sale. Access or dispatch may depend on confirmed payment. Check an uncertain transaction before repeating it to avoid duplicates, and retain the references.

Where payment in Écudors is actually offered, the summary states the amount, network and receiving address before transfer. Customers must check these details: transfers to a different destination or network may be irrecoverable. This payment option is not an investment or promise of return. Legally required refunds remain due; a suitable means is agreed without imposing extra charges.

7.4 Digital supply

Access follows the stated deadline and conditions after payment confirmation, through a personal link, customer area or included file. If a link fails, contact support with the order reference without publishing the access code. The publisher investigates and supplies the agreed content or applies the legally available remedies.

7.5 Physical delivery

Available destinations, shipping method, charges and delivery date or period are stated before purchase. Printing may be subcontracted without transferring the seller's obligations to the customer. If no delivery date is agreed, statutory rules apply, including the maximum thirty-day period following contract conclusion. For delay, customers have the rights under Articles L. 216-1 onwards of the French Consumer Code, including termination following the required steps or immediately in the cases provided by law.

Risk transfers when the consumer or their designated third party physically receives the goods, subject to the statutory exception for a carrier independently chosen by the consumer. Report missing, damaged or incorrect goods so the case can be handled. Failure to record reservations with the carrier does not remove statutory guarantees.

7.6 Pre-orders and unavailability

Pre-order status and any immediate payment are disclosed. If production becomes impossible or the promised deadline cannot be met, the publisher informs the customer and offers a solution respecting their rights. Credit or another album cannot replace a required refund without consent. Printing a standard book on demand does not alone make it personalised goods.

8. Subscriptions, gifts and cancellation

8.1 Monthly plan

When available for new subscriptions, the advertised monthly plan provides one eligible PDF comic of the customer's choice per paid monthly period, at the displayed price of €3.90 per month. It is not unlimited catalogue access. Selection is from eligible complete editions available in the account. The specifications and price confirmed at subscription remain the contractual reference.

Each paid period grants the stated entitlement. A confirmed selection allocates it to the selected album and is not normally exchangeable simply because of preference, without prejudice to withdrawal or non-conformity rights. Unused entitlements do not automatically roll over; start and end dates are shown in the account. Service unavailability attributable to the publisher must not unjustifiably deprive customers of paid rights.

8.2 Renewal and cancellation

The monthly plan carries the disclosed recurring payments until cancelled. Customers can stop renewals through subscription management and contact support if they have difficulty. Cancellation does not automatically refund a properly performed period, but statutory rights and albums already allocated under the offer remain. No new period may be charged after cancellation takes effect.

8.3 Gifts

Gift plans of 3, 6 or 12 months are paid once and do not renew automatically. Periods and activation follow the order summary. The recipient uses their personal link; the purchaser retains management of the purchase. An individual gift album covers the specified edition, not every current or future version.

Check the recipient and message. Report an incorrect address promptly; reissuing access depends in particular on whether the original has been used. Dates, available entitlements and effects of cancellation or refund are explained in the account. Buying a gift is not permission to market to its recipient.

9. Withdrawal, returns and refunds

9.1 Principle and deadlines

Consumers generally have fourteen days to withdraw without giving a reason. For goods, the period runs from receipt by the consumer or their designated third party other than the carrier, subject to the special rules for multiple deliveries. For services and digital content without a physical medium, it runs from contract conclusion. The statutory extension applies where required withdrawal information was not supplied.

9.2 Digital content

Immediate supply of paid digital content without a physical medium removes the right only when all statutory requirements are met: performance has begun, the consumer expressly agreed beforehand to commencement during the withdrawal period, expressly acknowledged loss of the right, and received the required contractual confirmation on a durable medium. General acceptance of these terms, buying a PDF or merely receiving a link is not sufficient on its own. Where these conditions are not established, the publisher does not rely on a waiver.

9.3 Services and personalisation

For a service begun at the consumer's express request before the deadline, a proportionate amount for work actually supplied may be due where statutory conditions are met. Loss of the right for a fully performed service also requires the prescribed consents. The exception for goods made to customer specifications or clearly personalised does not cover a standard book merely printed after ordering.

9.4 Notice

Send notice before the deadline to contact@rivieramedias.com or Xavier Vuillemin — Rivieramedias, 50 boulevard Stalingrad – Le Port, 06300 Nice, France. The model below is optional: any unambiguous statement is sufficient. A reason, additional account or registered letter cannot be imposed as the only method. Keep dated proof of sending.

9.5 Returns and repayment

Return goods within fourteen days of notifying withdrawal. Contact support to confirm the appropriate return address; do not send books directly to the printer without instructions. Consumers bear direct return costs only where informed of this before purchase. Liability for diminished value is limited to handling beyond what is necessary to establish the goods' nature, characteristics and functioning.

Repayment covers amounts paid and standard delivery costs, excluding the extra cost of a more expensive method chosen by the customer. It is made within fourteen days of notification, but for goods may be withheld until their receipt or proof of dispatch, whichever occurs first. The original payment method is used unless another method is expressly agreed without charges. Withdrawal is separate from statutory guarantees, which continue beyond its deadline.

10. Licence to read catalogue albums

Buying a physical copy transfers ownership of that copy, not exploitation rights in the work. A digital purchase grants the personal access and use described in the offer. It does not transfer ownership of the website or rights in characters, brands, working files or other protected elements.

Readers may view content and retain files where download is included. Statutorily permitted copies and uses are not excluded. Public distribution, uploading complete files, unauthorised resale of digital copies or sharing personal access links to bypass access controls is not included. Classroom, library, business and collective projection uses require checking the relevant rights.

Online reading does not guarantee downloading, printing or unadvertised offline compatibility. The publisher does not promise technically perpetual hosting; this does not authorise arbitrary removal of purchased access or exclusion of a promised duration or statutory guarantees. Closure or substantial changes require solutions and remedies appropriate to the contract.

Personalised or watermarked files are subject to the same rights. Markings must not make essential purchased content unreadable. Technical measures do not override mandatory consumer rights.

11. Custom work and quoted services

Custom creation is supplied only under a quotation or specific offer defining its scope. Submitting an idea to Challenge Codex is not ordering a personalised album. The quotation identifies the story or subject, page count, format, language, stages, deliverables, price, deadlines and any deposits.

Included revisions, approval stages and requests constituting scope changes are explained before commitment. No unaccepted extra charge may be imposed. Non-conformity corrections cannot be treated as paid options. Delays in necessary customer materials are discussed and do not remove the duty to inform.

Delivery does not automatically assign rights in all tools, models, fonts, pre-existing content or third-party components. Any professional exploitation licence or assignment must identify the elements, rights, purpose, territory, duration and exclusivity. Limits concerning automatically generated elements are explained without promising nonexistent protection.

Customers supply materials they may lawfully use. A person's image, work or brand is not free to reproduce simply because it is online. Confidentiality and image rights must be addressed before sensitive exploitation.

12. Contributions, selection and participants' rights

12.1 Submitting a proposal

Challenge Codex accepts proposals under the submission form's conditions. Participants retain rights they hold in their original materials. Submission permits technical operations necessary for receipt, reasonable retention and assessment, not a general automatic assignment of all rights.

12.2 Review and adaptation

A proposal may be rejected, combined with other ideas or developed with the participant. Selection depends on narrative consistency, feasibility, available rights, editorial quality and available places. Votes or an acknowledgement alone do not guarantee publication, release date or income.

12.3 Exploitation and credits

Where a contribution is protected and exploitation requires permission, the necessary reproduction, communication, adaptation or translation rights must be arranged in an appropriate agreement beforehand. Moral rights and publishing-contract rules remain applicable. An abstract idea and its original expression do not necessarily have the same protection.

A credit identifies the actual idea, script, contribution or role. It does not imply that the participant drew the images. Editorial use of “co-author” does not replace assessment of the real contribution and statutory rights. The name or pseudonym for publication is checked with the participant under the applicable process.

12.4 Remuneration and affiliation

Selection does not automatically trigger payment. Author remuneration, where legally due or agreed, is governed by the applicable agreement. Affiliate sales commissions are distinct from author royalties and cannot replace them by relabelling. Rates, calculation base, attribution, exclusions, refunds and payment arrangements follow the accepted specific programme terms; these general terms create no uniform commission rate.

13. People, likenesses, voices and third-party materials

Contributions and requests must respect privacy, image rights, reputation and intellectual property. Participants obtain suitable permission when requesting the depiction of an identifiable person, reproduction of a photograph, use of a voice or exploitation of a protected work.

A famous character, logo, cover, collectible or photograph may involve several rights. Showing it inside an album, as a figurine or in a collecting-themed story does not guarantee lawful reproduction. Quotation, parody and other exceptions are assessed individually and are not blanket permissions.

The publisher may request evidence, suggest an original substitute or decline exploitation where rights are unclear. Private-use permission does not necessarily authorise commercial distribution. Consent to depiction must cover the actual uses, particularly where synthetic processing or a fictional situation could mislead.

14. Submitted content and editorial responsibility

Participants accurately describe content origins and identify borrowed elements, restrictions and required permissions. They must not claim another person's text, drawing or photograph as their own and should avoid unnecessary sensitive or confidential information.

Materials may be reviewed using necessary production tools within the stated processing purposes. Publication, voting display or promotional use requires an appropriate contractual and legal basis. Sending private material does not authorise unrestricted publication of contact details or correspondence.

The publisher remains responsible for editorial decisions and appropriate checks. Participant declarations do not automatically discharge the publisher's own duties. Reported errors may prompt correction, temporary removal or rights verification, without determining a dispute in advance.

15. Prohibited uses and conduct

Services must not be used for fraud, impersonation, harassment, threats, unlawful content or illegally obtained data. Spam, abusive automated submissions, vote manipulation and attempts to access others' orders or data are prohibited.

Users must not bypass payment or access controls, distribute personal codes, intentionally disrupt the site or introduce malicious files. Catalogue extraction and reuse must comply with applicable rights and actual permissions; statutory exceptions remain reserved.

Criticism, good-faith reporting, refund requests and exercising rights are not abuse. Restrictions must remain proportionate. Urgent security action does not justify retaining payment for unperformed services outside lawful conditions.

16. Voting, community and collective selection

Voting records participants' preferences on open proposals. Published dates, eligibility rules and limits apply. Email verification and technical limits aim to reduce artificial or multiple votes and must not be bypassed using fictitious identities or accounts.

Results may be corrected where technical error or fraud is established, with appropriate information about the consequences. Voting is one part of the editorial process. Final selection may consider narrative continuity, rights, visual consistency, album length and disclosed constraints.

Interactions must remain respectful. Voting, sharing or commenting does not grant ownership of an album. Any separate prize, draw or reward would require its own rules; none is promised by these terms.

17. Artificial intelligence and content review

Our editorial process combines human ideas, decisions and intervention with AI tools, including script development and illustration production. These images are not represented as hand-drawn. Credits should describe the roles actually performed.

Tools may generate textual, anatomical, continuity or translation errors and unintended similarities. Editorial work includes selection, review and appropriate corrections. Disclosure of AI use does not remove the duty to supply content matching its description or address third-party rights.

Educational or documentary albums may use fictional scenes. They do not replace individual medical, legal, financial or technical advice. Collectible valuations, example prices, historical information and practical explanations must be understood in context and at their date; fiction is not an expert appraisal or guaranteed outcome.

Copyright protection depends on legal requirements and the relevant human contribution. No universal exclusivity in automatically generated elements is promised. Contractual reading rights, third-party rights and protection for human creations are separate issues.

18. Reporting, moderation and review

Report content to contact@rivieramedias.com with its precise location, relevant facts, claimed rights and supporting information. Representatives should identify their capacity. Personal documents need not be posted publicly.

The publisher reviews reports diligently, may request useful clarification and may take proportionate interim measures: restricting access, correcting content, pausing distribution or preserving evidence. These do not automatically establish the contributor's fault or the final validity of a complaint.

Where possible and lawful, affected persons receive reasons and may submit observations. A decision may be challenged through the contact address with additional evidence. A good-faith report is not penalised merely because it does not result in removal.

19. Availability, maintenance and technical dependencies

Maintenance, updates and incidents can interrupt service. The publisher takes reasonable preventive and restoration measures and informs users of significant effects. Planned work aims to minimise disruption without promising continuous availability unless contracted.

Services depend on hosting, email, payment, printing, shipping and digital production providers. Their involvement does not remove the customer's recourse against the seller. A provider incident is not automatically force majeure or a general exemption.

Minimum requirements depend on the offer: an up-to-date browser, internet access and a compatible PDF reader where needed. Features, restrictions and known compatibility limits affecting use must be disclosed before purchase. A guarantee cannot routinely depend on purchasing previously unannounced equipment.

Substantial changes to an ongoing digital service must comply with the law, including information, no additional charge and, where applicable, continuation or termination rights.

20. Personal data, cookies and communications

20.1 Controller and purposes

Xavier Vuillemin — Rivieramedias processes data necessary for orders, invoicing, subscriptions, gifts, support, participation and security. Records from both trading identities may be used in the shared customer area to perform those services, without becoming public.

Contract performance, accounting obligations and proportionate fraud prevention rely on their respective legal bases. Uses requiring consent require a specific choice. Acceptance of sales terms is not blanket advertising consent.

20.2 Recipients and retention

Only authorised staff and providers receive information needed for their tasks. Delivery details may be shared with printers and carriers; payment providers process payment information. Retention depends on purpose and legal duties, including accounting records. Account erasure does not require premature destruction of legally retained invoices.

20.3 Rights and trackers

Subject to GDPR conditions, you may request access, correction, erasure, restriction or portability, object to certain processing and withdraw consent. Contact contact@rivieramedias.com. Identity evidence should only be requested where reasonable doubt exists. You may complain to the CNIL.

Necessary session and security cookies differ from analytics and advertising trackers. Consent-dependent tools must not activate before the required choice. This clause does not replace technical settings or the detailed privacy information, and does not make every analytics tool consent-exempt.

21. Intellectual property, brands and reuse

Texts, illustrations, compositions, software, logos and catalogue elements enjoy applicable protections where their requirements are met. Rights remain with their holders. Public availability is not an abandonment of rights or general commercial licence.

Authorised excerpts must respect scope, credits and third-party rights. Permission for a press illustration does not allow merchandise, complete album publication or registration of a character as a trademark. Requests should specify medium, territory, duration, distribution and purpose.

Platform names and distributor links identify services or distribution channels, not blanket endorsement by their owners. External links do not guarantee stock, prices or delivery conditions. Statutory quotation, criticism and other exceptions are preserved.

22. Confidentiality and professional projects

Non-public information identified as confidential, or clearly confidential by nature, is protected within the relationship. This excludes information already public, lawfully known, legitimately obtained from another source or legally required to be disclosed.

Sensitive or business projects may need a separate confidentiality agreement specifying recipients, authorised tools, safeguards and duration. Do not submit trade secrets, health data or other sensitive information through a general form without checking that the service is suitable.

Voting display or publication makes a contribution accessible as disclosed. Private exchanges do not thereby become freely reusable for promotion. Confidentiality cannot be promised where it is incompatible with expressly requested public distribution.

23. Statutory guarantees and liability

23.1 Contact

To invoke a guarantee, contact the seller in section 2 with the purchase reference and issue description. Screenshots or photographs may assist diagnosis without being an automatic exclusive requirement. Statutory guarantees apply independently of any additional commercial warranty.

23.2 Books and physical goods

23.3 Digital content and services

23.4 Hidden defects

The hidden-defect guarantee applies under Articles 1641–1649 of the French Civil Code, including the two-year period from discovery. Where applicable, buyers may return the item for repayment or retain it with a partial repayment.

23.5 Liability

The publisher remains liable for its obligations under law, including subcontracted performance. No clause excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, particularly for fraud, gross negligence or personal injury. Mandatory consumer rights are not capped at the amount paid or removed by proof approval.

Customers remain responsible for unlawful uses and supplied materials where legal liability conditions are met. An alleged fault requires assessment of causation; it does not automatically transfer all responsibility. Both parties seek to limit an incident's consequences without preventing legal remedies.

24. Suspension, closure and ending the relationship

Access may be temporarily restricted for security risks, substantiated fraud, non-payment or serious breach. Where possible, users receive reasons and means to remedy or contest the issue. Urgent measures are limited to what is necessary and reviewed against available evidence.

Closing an account does not remove delivery, refund or guarantee duties or automatically revoke earlier purchases. Certain data may be retained where legally required or necessary to defend rights, with restricted access.

Customers may request account closure. This is distinct from stopping recurring subscription payments, which must be explicitly handled and confirmed. A closure request also expressing that intention must not be ignored merely because a particular button was not used.

25. Evidence, confirmations and archiving

Confirmations, invoices, emails, validation records and payment references may evidence transactions, subject to reliability and contrary evidence. The publisher's records are not declared conclusive. Customers should retain summaries, accepted terms and receipts.

Required contractual information and specific consents must be confirmed on a durable medium. An editable website page alone does not replace a required personal confirmation. New terms do not retrospectively alter older orders.

Electronic contracts reaching the statutory €120 threshold are archived and made accessible under Articles L. 213-1, D. 213-1 and D. 213-2 of the French Consumer Code for the required period. Requests go to section 2's contact. Invoices and accounting documents are retained as legally required.

26. Changes to services and terms

Each version is dated. New provisions govern future transactions and ongoing contracts only where legally permitted. Changing this page alone cannot retrospectively change prices or essential elements of an existing offer.

Changes affecting an ongoing contract require the legally prescribed information and, where necessary, consent or cancellation options. A new plan does not automatically replace a completed one-off purchase. Digital-service rules may require durable-medium notice and specific termination rights.

If a clause is invalid, other provisions remain effective insofar as the contract can lawfully continue. Delayed enforcement is not necessarily a waiver. Mandatory and protective legal rules prevail where interpretation is disputed.

27. Applicable law, complaints and mediation

27.1 Written complaint

Send a written complaint to contact@rivieramedias.com or section 2's postal address, identifying the order and requested solution. The publisher reviews relevant evidence and seeks an amicable resolution. This does not remove rights or automatically suspend limitation periods.

27.2 Consumer mediation — outstanding information

27.3 Law and jurisdiction

French law governs these terms. Consumers resident elsewhere retain mandatory protections where international private-law rules make them applicable. Consumers are not required to use Nice courts exclusively. Jurisdiction follows applicable law, including for businesses unless a valid agreement provides otherwise.

The French version and available translations are read together. Translation cannot remove a promise presented to the customer or mandatory rights. Any discrepancy is clarified without imposing an unlawful interpretation against the consumer.

28. Contact and practical requests

For an order, provide its reference, purchase email address and request. For reading issues, specify browser, device and error message, without sending passwords or publishing personal access links. For contributions, identify the project and proposal reference where available.

Withdrawal, guarantee, cancellation, data-access and rights-infringement requests follow their respective rules. A request cannot be rejected solely because it uses everyday language rather than the precise legal term. Commercial enquiries and reproduction-permission requests should be clearly identified.

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